22 containers fall off cargo ship

A cargo ship arrived at Port Everglades after losing 22 containers at sea near Key Biscayne.

The TransAtlantic Lines ship was headed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when it lost the containers about 18 miles off the shore of Key Biscayne about 1 p.m. Monday, according to the Coast Guard. The ship is based in Jacksonville.

The containers held cars and other consumables, said Gudmundur Kjaernested, the vice president of TransAtlantic Lines. He added that there was nothing militarily sensitive on-board.

"Normally, they take steps to make sure that everything is secured on the vessel though sometime accidents do occur," said U.S. Coast Guard petty officer Mark Barney. "We aren't reporting that it is an accident right now. It is still under investigation."

The ship arrived at Port Everglades about 9:30 p.m. Monday. Since then, crews have worked to stabilize, remove, and restack the containers.

Sky 10 showed several stacks of containers leaning to the side of the ship.

Crews were marking the lost containers with strobe lights so they are visible to other vessels in the shipping lanes.

Barney said some hazardous materials, including gasoline, were inside the containers.

"Right now, our concern is to contain it, make sure we still have a free flow of traffic for vessels, and to make sure that has spilled out is contained and cleaned up," said Barney.

A salvage company is working to retrieve the fallen containers from the ocean.